SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) and KUKA AG today announced they will work together around Industrie 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to promote the flexibility and automation of production processes.

Both companies want to collaborate, particularly in the areas of manufacturing, mechanical engineering and the automotive sector. The announcement was made at Hannover Messe, which takes place from April 24 to 28 in Hanover, Germany.

The integration of KUKA robots into SAP’s digital manufacturing showcase at Hannover Messe is driven by comprehensive standard protocols, such as OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA). In addition, KUKA and SAP plan to provide KUKA robot applications based on the SAP Leonardo IoT platform. KUKA robots will be integrated into SAP Cloud Platform, helping companies evaluate predictive maintenance scenarios and monitor factory floors. KUKA also plans to use selected SAP technology components as part of its own connyun IoT platform.

Through the SAP Leonardo portfolio, SAP has introduced a variety of solutions to support Industry 4.0 and IIoT. KUKA’s expertise in intelligent automation solutions complements these solutions. In addition, selected SAP technology and business components will enhance KUKA’s start-up platform connyun, with a focus on midsize machine construction.

“By seamlessly integrating automation solutions from KUKA and selected solutions from our SAP Leonardo IT platform and SAP Connected Manufacturing software, we can make a significant contribution to driving closer the integration of top floor and shop floor in manufacturing,” said Dr. Tanja Rueckert, executive vice president, IoT and Digital Supply Chain business unit, SAP. “This enables customers to build a high level of customer satisfaction and support them on their way to the digital transformation.

“We are committed to a twofold strategy: we are tying the KUKA robots on SAP Cloud Platform and the SAP Leonardo IoT platform. At the same time, the connyun Industry 4.0 platform of our start-up company of the same name will be supplemented with SAP technology components and SAP business applications. In this way, we can optimally adjust all customer requirements and support our customers in their digital transformation.”

The combination of expertise in machines, connectivity and production processes, together with expertise from SAP around Big Data analytics, business applications and the operation of large global infrastructures, creates an ideal landscape for this partnership. The collaboration between KUKA and SAP brings added value to the customer, especially for midsize machine builders.

KUKA Systems was named a GM Supplier of the Year for Powertrain & Body Shop Equipment by General Motors during its 25th annual Supplier of the Year awards ceremony held Friday, March 31 in Orlando, Florida.

General Motors recognized 118 of its best suppliers from 15 countries that have consistently exceeded GM’s expectations, created outstanding value or brought new innovations to the company. The announcement represented the most suppliers GM has recognized since debuting the Supplier of the Year event in 1992.

“We are focused on building positive supplier relationships, bringing new, customer-centric innovations to GM and being the OEM of choice among suppliers,” said Steve Kiefer, GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. “The companies we recognize tonight not only have brought innovation, they delivered it with the quality our customers deserve.”

More than half of the suppliers are repeat winners from 2015

Winning suppliers were chosen by a global team of GM purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics executives and selected based on performance criteria in Product Purchasing, Indirect Purchasing, Customer Care and Aftersales, and Logistics.

“The award acknowledges GM’s most important suppliers in 2016. Given our long-standing, reliable business relationship with General Motors, we are extremely proud that our exceptional performance has been honored in this way by our customer. Especially it is a remarkable celebration and KUKA is part of it”, says Lawrence A. Drake, CEO of KUKA Systems.

All KUKA robots can now be easily and intuitively guided by hand in the workspace using the robot Navigator from Very Important Product Maschinenvertriebs GmbH (VIP). Together with KUKA, the special-machine engineering expert is now offering the ready2_use package “ready2_pilot”.

Quick and easy robot programming
With the Navigator, the user can manually move any KUKA robot connected to the KR C4 controller. It is also possible to create programs quickly and easily. Pressing a button on the Navigator saves the desired movements. The software provided for these records individual points or entire motion paths.

Simple operator control increases productivity
The simple operator control of the robot, without the need to know its coordinates, boosts productivity by saving time. Intuitive manual guidance also helps to avoid errors. The VIP Navigator is already in use at a number of renowned companies. Easy use and easy reteaching of positions make the Navigator for KUKA robots a unique product with high customer benefits.

Under the motto “Hello Industrie 4.0_we connect you”, KUKA unites automation and digitization expertise at this year’s Hannover Messe. The Augsburg-based automation specialist has developed its “smart factory” further – and is now opening the next chapter in Industrie 4.0.

Highly customized products and a transparent, digitally networked manufacturing process which can be enhanced by human operators and innovative KUKA products: In the further developed “smart factory” at the 2017 Hannover Messe, all of the expertise of the Augsburg-based automation specialist comes together in one system. This enables flexible, fast and intelligent production which visitors can interact with on site.

“Mass Customization” – the inexpensive manufacture of customized “batch
sizes of 1” in automated production – is thus becoming a reality: From the settings in the system to the various networked production steps (including the associated intralogistics) through to the delivery of the product. Through this intelligent interaction of machines, mobile systems, software and robots, human operators hold the reins in their hands. Thanks to cloud-based communication, various end devices, such as the smartphone, can be used to comfortably track and influence the progress.

Behind this central “smart factory”, the largest networked trade fair application in the history of KUKA, there lies an intelligent interplay between various companies of the Bavarian automation specialist: Robotic and system expertise from Systems, Industries and Robotics as well as production logistics from the Swisslog subsidiary. Add to this the IT and software expertise of various associates parties. In this way, KUKA supports customers from the idea through to the finished factory.

Innovative partners for new business models
From 24 to 28 April in Hanover, KUKA offers insights into new areas – customized products and services for customers which even stretch beyond KUKA’s core business area. KUKA also has innovative partners to create a comprehensive ecosystem for customers in which flexible Industrie 4.0 solutions become a reality. You can thus easily gain an overview of your entire production process and also network and control it. Here, KUKA brings its experience to help customers, partners and start-ups to jointly create something new.

Connyun, a KUKA start-up company for cloud technology, will introduce itself directly at the KUKA booth in Hall 17 in the “Industrial Automation” area. Roboception – a young Munich-based company that develops 3D-perception for robot systems and an enterprise in which KUKA holds a stake – will also be represented directly at the KUKA booth.

The scientific competition for young talents: The KUKA Innovation Award
Whether an airbag system for human-robot collaboration, robot use for human rescue and new automation solutions for finishing processes or the mounting of heavy parts: this year’s finalists for the Innovation Award 2017 will presenting their applications on the topic of “Advanced Mechatronics” at Hannover Messe.

Directly at the KUKA booth, the teams of young researchers from all over the world present their concepts, which they have implemented in a few months using KUKA products. Finally, an international jury of experts selects the winner of the scientific competition and the 20,000 euro prize, and the champion is crowned directly at the KUKA booth.

The requirements for production processes at Airbus are growing. In order meet increasing demands, Airbus has ordered a further KUKA omniMove heavy-duty mobile platform, which is now being delivered. The flexibly adaptable special vehicle will transport the molds together with the upper shell of the wing for the A350 XWB at the Airbus plant in Stade.

Transportation of tooling for aircraft components weighing upto 75 tonnes

To transport the upper shells of the wings for wide-bodied aircraft at the Airbus plant in Stade, two KUKA omniMove will now be used instead of just one. The guided heavy-duty transporter is 34 meters long and four meters wide. It also has 56 wheels and can transport a load of up to 100 tonnes. With its modular system, it is precisely tailored to the specific task and spatial properties on site. At the same time, KUKA also continues to use purely electric drives – including for the lift tables specifically designed for this vehicle. These can precisely lift loads as high as 2.5 meters in accordance with customer requirements. Using its camera systems, the vehicle is guided and positioned with millimeter precision.

Now the third KUKA Omnimove at Airbus in stand 

With omnidirectional drive technology thanks to the omniMove wheel system, autonomous navigation without the risk of collision and enormous payloads, the KUKA omniMove serves as a mobile heavy-duty platform wherever heavy parts need to be transported precisely and reliably. Airbus has already been using the KUKA OmniMove in the production of aircraft since 2010. The technology has proven successful and has now led to a follow-up order. In 2016, Airbus ordered further omniMove vehicles for the expansion in production of the A350 XWB at its European plants. One of these vehicles – which is unique for KUKA in terms of its dimensions and payload – is for the plant in Stade, Germany. “The KUKA OmniMove is also impressive because, as a freely scalable modular system, it can be precisely adapted to the given requirements for height, length and width. As a result of the positive experience, Airbus signaled that they would continue to turn to KUKA for automated processes within production,” notes Robert Witte, Industrial Business Development Manager for Mobile Robotics at KUKA Roboter GmbH.

While smoothly loading the grinding center of type UW I F at SAACKE, the KUKA small robot KR AGILUS WP (waterproof) ensures fast and precise transfer and unloading of workpieces.

Robot-based automation of the grinding process shortens the changing times for workpieces

The KR AGILUS WP removes the workpiece to be machined – an indexable insert or a shank tool – from a pallet in the robot cell and sets it down on a pin. Following this, it positions the workpiece in front of the door of the cell, which opens automatically. The robot arm then moves through the open door to the grinding device outside of the robot cell, where a machined workpiece is already located during ongoing operation. Using the second gripper, the KR AGILUS WP picks up this workpiece and then loads the new workpiece with a quick rotation of the gripper arm. Machining of the new workpiece with the type UW I F tool grinding machine begins. In the meantime, the robot arm returns to the robot cell. There, the machined workpiece is cleaned in the blowing station and then set down again on the pallet before the robot grips the next workpiece to be ground and the work sequence is repeated from the beginning.

Waterproof KUKA small robot  also works precisely under intensive outdoor production conditions

The KUKAsmall robot works extremely precisely for the optimal handling of indexable inserts weighing just a few grams as well as for shank tools of up to 2.5 kg. The robot used to achieve this at SAACKE is the KR 6 R900 sixx WP robot – the most robust waterproof variant from the KR AGILUS series. It features stable stainless steel covers, resistant surface treatment and additional seals in the interior, enabling it to be used in a machine tool environment. This prevents ingress of cooling lubricant and grinding oil into the robot. As a result, the robot fully meets SAACKE’s expectations. Thanks to a shortened cut-to-cut time, the capacity utilization of the machine has been substantially improved. Furthermore, the reliable procedure has enabled the operator control requirements of the machine to be simplified to a great extent.

By using robots, MERZ has increased productivity, quality and flexibility, minimized downtimes and shortened delivery times

In the MERZ production facility, the KUKA KR FORTEC F (Foundry) links four machining centers, fills and empties changeover stations and ensures optimal utilization of the machine tools.

KUKA heavy-duty robot enables fully-automatic operation

The KUKA KR FORTEC F (Foundry) moves on a KUKA linear unit of type KL 1500-3 with a length of 18 meters to tend the four production systems installed adjacent to one another. The task of the robot is to load and unload the changeover stations at which the machine pallets with the corresponding workpieces and raw materials are supplied. Serving as the link between the machining centers, it performs the automatic transfer of machine pallets and raw material pallets between the changeover stations, storage areas and machine tools. This enables the four machining centers to work fully automatically around the clock. The automated system has also been integrated into the company’s internal information flows. This ensures automatic provision of the NC and tool data for the machines – a key factor in avoiding unnecessary downtimes and achieving maximum productivity. The application at MERZ was implemented by KUKA system partner wbt automation and production control specialist SOFLEX.
Ideal combination: the KR FORTEC series and the KL 1500-3 linear unit

The KUKA KR 500 R2830 F from the KR FORTEC heavy-duty series covers an exceptionally large working envelope with very long reference load center distances. The compact design of the KR FORTEC series without disruptive contours, together with their more streamlined appearance, makes the robots suitable for use in cramped cells as well as in completely new cell concepts. In the special Foundry variant, the robot is suitable for installations with a high degree of fouling and high temperatures. All robots of the KR FORTEC series are optimized for use on linear units. The KL 1500-3 linear unit has been specially designed by KUKA for high payloads. The combination of robot and linear unit ensured that all the pre-formulated objectives were achieved: shorter delivery times, improved deadline compliance, better machine utilization, increased quality and improved internal procedures.

At EMO 2015 in Milan, Italy, KUKA Roboter GmbH is presenting flexible robotic solutions for the automation of machine tools. The Augsburg-based robot manufacturer is participating in the largest international platform for production technology from 5 to 9 October with a booth covering 240 square meters. At Booth G05, in Hall n° 3, KUKA is showcasing its broad product portfolio for integrating robots with machine tools.

Whether for loading and unloading or the efficient use of non-productive time by executing machining tasks such as milling, turning, drilling or deburring: KUKA robots are the ideal partner for the automation of machine tools. They can be used not only in mass production, but can also significantly increase productivity for manufacturers with batch sizes below 100 units or when parts with long throughput times are concerned. At EMO 2015, KUKA is exhibiting its comprehensive portfolio of robots and solutions specially tailored to meet the requirements of the machine tool industry. This includes robots that meet the highest requirements for repeatability and precision as well as software solutions that greatly simplify integration into the machine environment.

Highly accurate and extremely precise: the KR QUANTEC SE

For applications requiring utmost precision, KUKA has developed the KR 300 R2500 ultra SE. The new model of the service-proven KUKA KR QUANTEC series achieves its exceptional accuracy by means of a special position sensing system (Second Encoder) using output-side position encoders attached to the exterior of the first three robot axes. In this way, the positioning accuracy of the KR 300 R2500 ultra SE is improved to less than 0.03 millimeters, compared with 0.07 millimeters for the standard version.

Simple integration with mxAutomation

With the mxAutomation software tool, KUKA is presenting a solution specifically aimed at manufacturers of machine tools.  It enables simple integration of robots with the particular machine controller. Users do not need to have special robot knowledge and can use their familiar programming and operator control environments.

Ideal interaction between robots and Sinumerik

At EMO 2013 in Hanover, KUKA and Siemens announced a partnership for integrating handling and machining robots with machine tools. At EMO 2015 in Milan, both companies are now presenting the fruits of their collaboration. Using KUKA.CNC Sinumerik 1.0, robot path planning is carried out in an easy and uncomplicated manner via the CNC controller of the machine tool. This allows even complex processes on the robot to be controlled in the familiar programming environment in the same way as machining tasks.

First and foremost, industrial robots must function in a manner that is precise, fast and error-free. But outward appearances count as well. KUKA robots are not only first in class when it comes to technology, but have also been awarded numerous times for their design. On the occasion of the 50th international conference of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), KUKA will receive the International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) for the design of the KR AGILUS small robot series.

Dynamic and masterful mover
“Matching the technology, the design of industrial robots too has become sleeker and more ‘athletic’. The form of the robot should reflect these characteristics,” says industrial designer Mario Selic, who has worked on the design of industrial robots with KUKA for many years. In concrete terms, this means that the great technical advantages of the KR AGILUS – its high speed, top precision and maximum flexibility – are also expressed through its design. This design expresses dynamism while also emphasizing the robot’s nimbleness and fast motion sequences. At the same time, the design saves materials and avoids any impairment of the machine’s agility. The robot is thus a perfect symbiosis of form and function.

“The International Design Excellence Award is great recognition and confirmation of our work,” says Selic. Numerous KUKA products have already won various design prizes over the past few years. With the IDEA, the KR AGILUS has hauled in yet another important design prize to add to the other awards for KUKA robots. The IDEA will be presented this year for the 35th time at the annual IDSA conference in Seattle, USA. During the competition, a jury of 24 renowned designers judged industrial products from 21 sectors – from “Commercial and Industrial” to “Home and Bath”.

Important strategic move for sports car production

Porsche is taking over the toolmaking division of Kuka Systems GmbH with locations in Schwarzenberg in the German state of Saxony and the Slovakian town Dubnica. Under the name of Porsche Werkzeugbau GmbH, the business unit with more than 600 employees will become a fully owned subsidiary of the Stuttgart-based sports car maker Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. Kuka Systems GmbH belongs to Kuka AG, Augsburg, a world-leading supplier of robot-based automation systems. The takeover is still subject to approval under antitrust law.

“By taking over the toolmaking division, Porsche is making important moves for the sports car production of the future,” says Matthias Müller, President of the Executive Board of Porsche AG. “From a strategic point of view, the integration is a major step for us. There is additionally a decades-long tradition of craftsmanship and technology linking our companies.”

Dr Oliver Blume, Member of the Executive Board – Production and Logistics at Porsche AG, explained the importance of toolmaking: “Innovative tool concepts are enabling us to implement the emotional design typical of Porsche with the maximum possible quality. The employees of our new subsidiary are distinguished by their very high level of expertise across every step of the toolmaking process. We are especially able to profit from this expertise in complex aluminium parts relevant to lightweight design,” said Oliver Blume.

“We are delighted to welcome more than 600 specialists into our Porsche family,” said Uwe Hück, Chairman of the Group Works Council. “I can assure the new colleagues that Porsche – Executive Board and employee representatives together – will ensure that the jobs are safeguarded in the long term. That is what Porsche stands for and also what we stand for.”

The company from the Ore Mountains has a tradition that dates back over 100 years and high levels of expertise in the fields of method planning, engineering design, toolmaking and systems solutions for forming and cutting tools in the automotive sector.